Picky eater....need Some Recipes Please

I'm old school. I don't believe that meal time is to be spent catering to your child, trying to entice your child, or being repetitive when it comes to the menu.

For me, meal time is when I feed & nurture my family. I rotate a variety of dishes, I try new recipes, & I honor all-time favorites. This holds true even with my daycare. Last week, we had brussel sprouts & every kid ate them! Wow!

For great recipes, try the websites for Better Homes & Gardens, Martha Stewart, Food Network, etc...pretty much any magazine you like will have great online options! For the most part, these are recipes you can trust.

My children and the children in my family have learned that my kitchen should never be confused with a restaurant. If I'm cooking you are eating what is before you, the only deal breakers are foods you may be allergic to. You won't know what those are unless you actually taste them.

Also in my home we have a secondary rule because sometimes you will find you just don't like that particular things prepared in a certain way but find it very good prepared differently. So we often try new things different ways to discover what way we like it best.

Getting other kids involved is often helpful in getting little ones to try new and different things.

Not giving them the choice of saying they won't eat this or that is also helpful.

Try different colors, textures, and flavors. I happen to love all foods but growing up my mother made it mandatory for me to try new things. I was the same way with my son, neices and nephews. They all will try something at least twice.

My kids went through a phase where they only liked raw veggies with some kind of dip.

Since you asked for recipes here you go. My 5 year old calls this her favorite chicken!
INGREDIENTS (Nutrition)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, and garlic powder. Place bread crumbs in a separate bowl. Dip chicken into the mayonnaise mixture, then into the bread crumbs to coat. Arrange coated chicken on a baking sheet.
Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until chicken juices run clear and coating is golden brown.
4 servings

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tender-Italia...ken/Detail.aspx

ETA - For clarification, our son ate nearly everything we fed him. He had a few exceptions - totally understandable. Then we noticed he refused what we made for dinner a few nights in a row. As most normal parents, we pulled out the chicken nuggets and hotdogs.

Then we asked the nanny how lunches were going. Seems she got tired of finding something different, and as she put it "He just LOVES hotdogs and chicken nuggets". Duh.

So she had started feeding him **what he demanded**, which quickly was expanded to dinner with us.

I like the Dave Ramsey quote - "people who believe in cause and effect **happen** to things in their life. People that don't believe in cause and effect are much more likely to have things happen **to** them.

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ORIGINAL
No offense, but we told our nanny to stop making "extras" or "things he likes" so that our son **wouldn't** turn into a picky eater.

Our ped even said not to do this, and if child refuses to eat what's served then let them. One or two missed meal won't hurt a child and they'll eat what's served when they're hungry enough.

Next to breastfeeding and CIO, this is the most contraversial topic on this site. Yes, it is true that most kids go through a "picky" stage but there are many children that have sensory issues that prevent them from being anything BUT picky. Sometime parents are lazy and they create these picky eaters. But I honestly believe that most of the time, it is as indivual as any other personality trait. My son is one of those picky eaters. I am a foodie and love trying new and exciting food. My mother and my husband were picky eaters as children. I believe there is a genetic componant. For my son, it was related to a sensory processing issue which with time and OT has mostly resolved itself. BUT he is still not a great eater and has even said that he doesn't like school anymore because they make him eat the snacks. He used to love school. My point is, no one knows your son like you do. I use a sticker chart to help my son try new food. He has the option to say no thank you after one bite and there are certain foods like soup that make him very upset. I would just keep eating well yourself and always remember to offer him a bit. I take my son to the supermarket when I can so he can pick out food he might like. Above all, not every solution works for every family and you know your son the best.

I think it's funny that one of the moms lays the job of feeding a difficult eater on the nanny, because I can tell you, it is not easy to feed a picky eater, as you know. Picky eaters are rarely created, educate yourselves ladies. Stop patting yourselves on the back.

I don't know if your menu is like my friend's. She was our American neighbor and her child menu is somehow make me bow salute to the kid. Her son doesn't eat her food: he only eat boiled egg, tofu, eggplant. Everything is boiled, not sauteed, fried, no salt and sugar. Just boiled. These food is combined with plain yoghurt and plain oatmeal. Sometimes she will mix white rice+ papaya+ pineapple and juice them into porridge. I think I want to throw up seeing her kid's food. That kid wasn't allowed to eat cake, cookies and candy. I don't know if American mothers do this to their kids. But, if you do. Maybe you should add salt, sugar and explore other food. Let him taste. This kid went to my hometown for holiday and when his mom slept, his father gave him my mom's beefstew. He ate a lott...I believe at that time he was like 2 years+. They have tastebud, so let him eat your food, too.